Chapter 11: The Second Time

There was no answer online, not even a hint of a related question. Su Mi closed her optical brain and stood in the hallway, lost in thought.

She remembered the woman tilting her head to look at her, with icy blue, cold eyes, a strand of pitch-black hair curling by her ear, and a slight smile playing on her lips.

And that sentence, “My pheromones are a bit unstable right now.”

Su Mi instinctively felt something was off.

She asked the system, “System, do you know what that cigarette-like thing the antagonist was holding in the observation room was?”

The system beeped twice, a few ellipses appeared, indicating it was thinking or searching.

System: “Sorry, this is something outside of the storyline. 622 doesn’t know what it is.”

A little crying face appeared on the virtual pink pixelated screen.

Su Mi: “It’s okay. Show me the antagonist’s current blackening value.”

Since the constant display of a number in the top right corner of her vision was too distracting, Su Mi had previously asked the system to hide the blackening value, only showing it when she wanted to see it.

At this moment, the blackening value in the top right corner was 87%.

It should be normal.

Su Mi had observed several times before and found that the antagonist’s blackening value did not increase in a fixed pattern but generally increased by one or two points daily.

Tomorrow was the day to send the protagonist to read to the antagonist again, so the blackening value would surely decrease.

So, every week was a cycle of the blackening value rising and falling.

Although the antagonist’s blackening value had not increased, Su Mi felt even more certain, trusting her intuition:

The antagonist was probably testing her just now.

Had the antagonist already suspected she was an Omega?

But if she really were an Omega and had been called by the antagonist to stay with her unstable SS-level pheromones, the consequences would be unimaginable. The antagonist, with her committed heart and cautious, gloomy personality, didn’t seem like someone who would do such a thing.

The original storyline had little description of the antagonist’s character and background. Su Mi didn’t have much information about the antagonist, far less than she knew about the protagonist.

From a character trait perspective… could it be…

…could it be because she accompanied Xu Nanqiao upstairs that day, making the antagonist unhappy?

Did she want to be alone with the protagonist? So, today’s direct summons was a warning?

Yes, the antagonist even repeated her calling the protagonist “Nanqiao” today.

Su Mi was shocked.

How dangerous! The antagonist’s possessiveness was terrifying!

It turned out you couldn’t ignore the fact that the antagonist liked the protagonist just because she looked cold and beautiful and didn’t seem like she would like anyone.

When she sent the protagonist to the South Garden tomorrow, she had to keep her distance from the protagonist in front of the antagonist.

Su Mi made up her mind and finally breathed a sigh of relief, believing she had arranged her task plan well. She happily went upstairs to play with her brother.

The next day, Su Mi and Xu Nanqiao planned to go to the library to do some exercises together.

The new car she drove to school yesterday was still in the underground parking lot of Lorland Academy, so Su Mi switched to an older car and went to pick up Xu Nanqiao.

Compared to the top-tier students of Lorland Academy, Xu Nanqiao, a special scholarship student, was indeed very poor.

But Su Mi thought it was alright.

Xu Nanqiao’s family only had an Omega mother, yet Xu Nanqiao seemed to live a very happy and determined life. The neighborhood she lived in was a clean and tidy residential area, far from a slum, and could be considered a moderately prosperous community.

Today was a day off, Xu Nanqiao wore a simple white long dress, with a fresh floral headband on her head. She held down her hair, blowing in the wind, as she got in the car.

Su Mi looked at her and smiled, “Good morning. Your headband looks great today.”

Xu Nanqiao: “My mom made it herself. Nice, right?”

Su Mi: “It’s very nice! Auntie is so skillful. Did she pick the fabric too? She has great taste; it suits you perfectly.”

Xu Nanqiao smiled: “Alright, but what about you? Why did you switch back to your old car?”

Su Mi pouted and said, “You left early yesterday. Secretary Zhuang came to find me later, didn’t even let me eat a bite, dragged me to see my sister on an empty stomach. My car is still at school. But the disposition of those thugs has been decided. Guess what happened?”

She decided to beautify the handling of the matter a bit, following Xu Nanqiao’s guesses.

Xu Nanqiao pondered: “Those guys are all Alphas, carrying weapons and blocking two Omega and Beta students with bad intentions. They should be severely punished, right?”

Su Mi: “Yes, they were all stripped of their Alpha status.”

Xu Nanqiao smiled: “That’s how it should be.”

Su Mi: “Huh?”

Xu Nanqiao: “I’ve realized you don’t listen to regular classes, don’t listen to physiology classes, and don’t even listen to gossip. Aren’t you curious why our school’s security team arrived so quickly and professionally? The teacher said it was because of a past tragedy…”

Lowering her voice towards the end, Xu Nanqiao looked mysterious.

Su Mi widened her eyes, feeling she was about to hear a horror story. She parked the car by the roadside, ready to listen nervously.

“Why did you stop? If we don’t go early, we won’t get a spot in the library.”

Su Mi: “Aren’t you going to tell me about the tragedy?”

Xu Nanqiao: “I just heard it from others…”

She looked out the window and said vaguely, “It was something like an Omega from our school being attacked by several Alphas outside… I don’t remember the details.”

Su Mi started the car, making a note of it.

She then chuckled and said, “You laugh at me, but Xu the great scholar also doesn’t care about outside matters, only reading the sage’s books. I’m curious when you started listening to gossip.”

Xu Nanqiao: “Alright, I admit it… Su Mi, don’t hold grudges.”

The elegant girl in the passenger seat clasped her hands together, making a cute, apologetic expression.

Su Mi drove to the largest library in the city, parked the car, and the two of them swiped their reservation codes, found seats in the study room, and began working on exercises together.

Su Mi quickly grasped new knowledge. Even with Xu Nanqiao’s help, she often marveled at Su Mi’s comprehension skills.

No teacher dislikes a smart student. Initially, Xu Nanqiao might have thought Su Mi was just impulsively saying she wanted to get into Capital University but would eventually choose to donate money or consider other schools like many Lorland Academy students.

But seeing Su Mi study so seriously and quickly, Xu Nanqiao became more invested. This library trip was her suggestion.

She probably still had reservations about Su Mi’s previous disinterest in studying, worrying that Su Mi might waste the precious weekend time that could be used for studying.

This suggestion might be unacceptable to others, but Su Mi was different. When Xu Nanqiao proposed it, her eyes lit up. Because of her persona, she pretended to hesitate, muttering about having plans with friends for a new dessert exhibition…

Then Xu Nanqiao pinched her ear, making her agree to go to the library the next day.

They studied seriously all morning, had a quick lunch outside the library, and returned. While Xu Nanqiao was checking Su Mi’s exercises, Su Mi’s optical brain vibrated.

Secretary Zhuang: Miss Su, when would be convenient for you to bring Miss Xu over today? I’ll inform Miss Shen in advance.

Su Mi: “Secretary Zhuang is asking when we’re going over today.”

Xu Nanqiao: “Tell him a bit later, around three, okay?”

Su Mi relayed this honestly.

When it was time to take the protagonist to the South Garden, Su Mi refused to go upstairs.

She stood next to Secretary Zhuang, waved at Xu Nanqiao, and sincerely said, “You go ahead.”

Xu Nanqiao looked at her with an expression of ‘you really are unreliable’ and followed the butler upstairs.

Once they left, Su Mi turned around to see Secretary Zhuang already sitting in a corner of the sofa, busy with his optical brain, seemingly handling work.

Su Mi looked around the spacious reception hall.

As observed last time, the South Garden’s decor leaned towards classical European style, with luxurious and comfortable furnishings. The sofas were soft and wide, and unlike her home, the coffee table didn’t have various fruits and snacks but a single two-handled, white porcelain vase with a few fresh white roses and some complementary flowers, very delicate.

She found a single sofa, sat down, and opened her optical brain, continuing with the exercises she hadn’t finished.

Soon, the butler came down, bringing several plates of nuts and fruits, placing them in front of Su Mi and Secretary Zhuang.

The butler was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a loyal face often seen in TV dramas. In the original storyline, his presence was even weaker than Secretary Zhuang’s.

Su Mi thanked him, picking up a small fork to eat the fruit while pondering a difficult problem.

Suddenly, Secretary Zhuang said, “If you’re bored, you can check out the southwest corner of the South Garden. There’s about half an hour until sunset.”

Su Mi raised her head, realizing that Secretary Zhuang might think she was bored.

Indeed, during the previous study sessions, the original character would get impatient and look for ways to entertain herself.

Maybe seeing her biting into the fruit and struggling with a problem, Secretary Zhuang assumed she was bored.

Su Mi pointed to her optical brain and said amiably, “No, I’m working on a math problem. This one is a bit tricky, and I can’t remember which formula to use.”

Hearing this, Secretary Zhuang’s usually stoic face showed a rare hint of confusion.

Secretary Zhuang: “Weekend homework?”

Su Mi: “Well, not exactly. It’s an extracurricular exercise.”

Secretary Zhuang hesitated briefly, “Do you need my help?”

Su Mi, seizing the opportunity, shared the problem on his optical brain and moved closer.

Secretary Zhuang glanced at it and quickly identified the needed formulas, providing key steps to solve the problem.

Su Mi, sincerely impressed, said, “You’re amazing, Secretary Zhuang! I would’ve taken forever to figure this out on my own.”

Secretary Zhuang: “You’re welcome. But why are you suddenly doing extracurricular exercises? You… don’t really need this.”

Since Secretary Zhuang handled all arrangements for Su Mi’s guaranteed admission to the capital university, he was well aware of her assured bright future.

Su Mi nonchalantly replied, “Since I differentiated into a Beta, I feel like I should be more ambitious and learn more real knowledge.”

Secretary Zhuang nodded, “That’s a good approach.”

“Great! You understand me, Secretary Zhuang!” After being hit by Xu Nanqiao and Shen Han’s reactions, Su Mi felt deeply touched by the only encouragement from Secretary Zhuang.

She remembered that Secretary Zhuang was a top student from the South City or somewhere, so she took advantage of the situation, eagerly asking, “Can I ask for your help with difficult questions in the future? I promise there won’t be many!”

Secretary Zhuang hesitated.

His poker face briefly showed emotions resembling “regret,” “disdain,” and “trouble.”

“…Alright.”

Su Mi’s high action efficiency meant that since Secretary Zhuang had agreed to help her with questions, she might as well start now.

The best time to begin was immediately.

Thus, when Xu Nanqiao finished reading and came downstairs with Shen Han, turning the corner, she noticed Shen Han’s slight pause in her steps.

Usually, after the reading sessions, Shen Han wouldn’t come downstairs, so Xu Nanqiao was curious.

She didn’t understand why Shen Han had stopped, so she peeked into the living room.

In the middle of the wide sofa, Su Mi and Secretary Zhuang were huddled closely, looking at a shared screen.

Xu Nanqiao: Oh?

She instinctively turned to look at Shen Han.

Author’s Note:
Xu Nanqiao: It has nothing to do with me.